State officials to announce initial Aurora State Airport development plans Thursday amid lack of public consensus

View full sizeThomas Boyd/The OregonianAn Oregon State Trooper photographs wreckage of a plan that crashed into a house in September near the Aurora State Airport. The pilot walked away largely unscathed. Some residents of the area are concerned that airport expansion will increase the danger to nearby neighborhoods.

Little consensus has emerged since the meeting, said Chris Cummings, project manager.

Alternatives include leaving the airport in its current state or extending the runway by 600 or 1,000 feet. Each proposal would have varying impacts on the entire airport. The state presented the development options as part of its multiyear effort to update the airport's master plan.

The Wilsonville City Council added its voice to the debate March 17, when it decided against endorsing one specific airport option. Instead, councilors adopted a list of considerations they felt planners should consider.

The council's not alone. Few can agree on what -- if any -- alternative stands out as the best option for the Aurora airport, one of the busiest operated by the state. Asked whether one proposal was most popular, Cummings replied: "No, no, no."

Some airport operators have said a longer runway amounts to increased safety and capacity, and opens the airport to larger corporate jets.

A Columbia Helicopters official has said the company can't support runway expansion to the north, which would inhibit the company's ability to expand its current headquarters.

Clackamas County Commissioner Charlotte Lehan noted planners should take a closer look at possible traffic and land-use impacts that could arise from airport development.

The airport lies in Marion County, just south of the Clackamas County line. The cities of Wilsonville and Aurora sit a few miles from either side of the transportation hub, home to 350 aircraft and 750 employees.

"There are a lot of different thoughts around the airport, as far as residents and users and businesses," Cummings said. "We have other obligations outside of the comments we've been getting. We have to ensure that the airport's safe and open to the flying public."

In fact, most people have agreed increased safety is necessary, Cummings said.

A planned air-traffic control tower should help steer traffic away from residential areas, Cummings said. Connect Oregon funds will cover its construction costs, and the Federal Aviation Administration will staff the building. The tower should be operational as soon as 2013, Cummings said.

View full sizeWilsonville city councilors review airport development options March 17.

More than a dozen people showed up during the 2 1/2-hour special session March 17. At least nine testified. Charles Patterson of Charbonneau told councilors he opposed the expansion because of the possibility of increased traffic.

"If our homes are devalued by a newly industrialized airport across the line in Marion County, what impact will that have?" Patterson said.

Bruce Bennett, owner of Aurora Aviation at the airport, told councilors a longer runway wouldn't necessarily increase traffic but it would increase safety. Bennett also said the added infrastructure would help serve the airport's growing traffic.